Raila Odinga sworn in Kenyan prime minister

DPA Nairobi, April 17 (DPA) Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga was sworn in prime minister Thursday, ending months of tension over elections he claimed rigged by President Mwai Kibaki. Odinga wore a flashy blue suit and gave Kibaki a bow on his way to take the oath of office to become Kenya’s second prime minister since independence from Britain in 1963.

All 40 cabinet members and 52 assistant ministers were being sworn in Thursday, ending a stalemate that nearly derailed a peace deal between Kibaki and Odinga that brought an end to two months of vicious violence that left more than 1,000 dead.

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan, who brokered the peace pact, witnessed Odinga’s swearing in after returning to Kenya Wednesday evening, where he urged all Kenyans to help their leaders in healing the divided country.

Activists have voiced dismay at the size of the cabinet, the largest in Kenya’s history, but the government has insisted all facets of the country were reflected on the cabinet and much work lay ahead for the ministers. DPA